Santa Barbara County supervisors admitted violating the Brown Act in voting in a closed session last fall. Nonetheless, they approved a controversial development opposed by local environmentalists. -DB Santa Barbara Independent March 3, 2009 By Ethan Stewart The Naples debate returned with vengeance at the Santa Barbara County Supervisors this week. Confusion and legal bickering reigned supreme as the Supes voted 3-to-1 to reverse a closed session decision made by the Board last fall en

Prison Legal News From a Press Release March 3, 2009 The Prison Legal News has challenged the LA County Sheriff’s Department attempt to withhold information about awards in cases brought by prisoners against jail staff. Until recently, information about settlements and verdicts had been available online. -DB LOS ANGELES – Prison Legal News (PLN), a non-profit monthly publication that reports on corrections and criminal justice-related issues, filed suit today in Superior Court against Los Angeles

A former Baltimore Sun crime reporter returned to the city to find that when he tried to find out details of a police shooting, he was denied, and because of deep cuts to the news staff on the Sun, there were no reporters available to follow up the story and no one to demand that the police do their job and tell what happened. Under these conditions the public’s right to know is disregarded and

Governmental agencies deny scholars access to DNA database even though the scholars can maintain the anonymity of the DNA subjects. Access is crucial to projects studying the effectiveness of DNA matches in criminal cases. -DB San Francisco Chronicle By Erin Murphy Feb. 24, 2009 Since 1998, the government has overseen the aggregation of a national DNA database that now includes 6.5 million profiles. The database includes material from both criminal offenders and innocents sampled in

With the burden of proof on defendants in British libel cases, small newspapers are paying out thousands in libel judgments making it difficult for them to survive. Britain is also a destination for wealthy individuals wanting to sue writers especially American under British law. The government is now considering how to alter the law to allow full expression of free speech rights. -DB The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press Feb. 25, 2009 By